2 Corinthians 12 – Walking With Giants

Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh, 1-10

Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh, 1-10
The Signs of an Apostle, 11-21

12:1 It is necessary to go on boasting. Though it is not profitable, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.

12:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up to the third heaven. 12:3 And I know that this man (whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows) 12:4 was caught up into paradise and heard things too sacred to be put into words, things that a person is not permitted to speak.

I know a man – Paul is almost certainly referring to himself.

Kruse: Paul refers to himself in the first person either because he wants to indicate the sacred nature of this experience, or because he wants to maintain a distance between the Paul of that experience and the Paul who people can see and hear (cf. v6).

Fourteen years ago – This was clearly a definite and memorable experience.

Many commentators link this with Paul’s Damascus Road experience.

Barnett: Based on a date of around AD 55 for the writing of this letter, this experience would be dated around AD 42. At this time Paul was in Syria-Cilicia (Gal 1:18, 21; 2:1; Acts 9:29–30; 11:25).

Might this have occurred when Paul was stoned and left for dead at Lystra (Acts 14:19-20)? If so, might he have entered, temporarily, what we call the ‘intermediate state’?

Whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows – Enoch (Gen. 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kgs 2:9–12) were translated bodily into heaven, but permanently.

If Paul’s experience was ‘out of the body’, then we have some confirmation that personal identity continues outside the body, and the soul continues to have some kind of conscious existence during the intermediate state.

The third heaven – The first heaven would be the realm of birds and clouds, the second of the stars and planets, and the third of God himself – ‘the highest heavens’ (1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chron 2:6; 6:18; Neh 9:6; Ps 148:4).

Paula Gooder (Only the Third Heaven? 2 Corinthians 12.1–10 and Heavenly Ascent) expresses the view that Paul is describing a failed ascent, being thwarted in his attempt by a satanic angel. Garland (CSC) rightly rejects this theory, for several reasons: including the fact that the the apostle describes the satanic attack as occuring after and because of the ‘extraordinary revelations’, v7.

Paradise – Mentioned just twice elsewhere in the NT – Lk 23:43 and Rev 2:7. Presumably, it is another name for the ‘third heaven’ just referred to.

Dr Paul Marston (private communication) seems sure (presumably because of the reference to ‘visions’ in v1) that this experience was itself a vision. If so, it could, suggests Marston, have been a vision of the future. Indeed, God might have transported Paul there, Dr Who-like, even if Paul had remained ‘in the body’.

Not permitted to speak – ‘Not lawful’. It was not simply that they were inexpressible in human language, but were too holy to be expressed:

‘There are certain divine things that humans may not know, and if they are granted the privilege of learning of them, they may not tell.’ (Garland)

It is clear that Paul refused to make his own experience the basis of his preaching. He certainly had an amazing experience on the road to Damascus: he saw a blinding light, heard a voice, was knocked to the ground, was instantly changed from being a killer of Christians to being a servant of Christ, Acts 9. But his preaching was based on an appeal to the Scriptures, Acts 17:2-3; 29:23. Even after being caught up to the third heaven, he was not allowed to speak the things he saw.

All of this is in contrast to the apocalypses, attributed to Adam, Abraham and Moses,

‘the very point of which was to convey some sort of message, he offers no report of the revelation that the “one whom he knows” received.’ (Seifrid)

Garland emphasises what this account does not tell us:

‘Paul’s account of his journey to heaven differs from the tours of heaven and hell recorded by other apocalyptic and mystical writers of the age:

He does not say how he was transported because he does not know…

He does not visit a series of heavens.

He is not let in on secrets that he can then disclose to others or put in a book to be sealed for a later time.

The meaning of what he sees and hears is not interpreted by an angelic tour guide.’

(Paragraphing added)

Garland continues by noting what follows:

‘In the aftermath what he gets instead is an angel from Satan who plagues him with a thorn that leads him to a deeper understanding of his ministry. Paul sets the stage for some angelic vision and comes back with the image of an angel of Satan. The vision of heaven rouses adversaries from hell.’

Garland concludes:

1. The benefit for Paul was not soteriological or vocational but concerned only his private relationship to God as a man in Christ…

2. Private mystical experiences have no value for the church because they cannot be adequately communicated to others. They are useless in trying to make arguments in a public forum that requires logical argument…Matthew 28:19–20 makes clear that the teaching of the church is based on what Jesus had already commanded on earth, not on the latest visions from paradise.

3. Private mystical experiences may lead to boasting and self-justification…As Barnett puts it, “God … brought the elated Paul down to earth and pinned him there with a ‘thorn.’ ” It also kept Paul pinned closer to the Lord…Such experiences take their toll as Paul reveals in what follows. They are not something that he sought, nor something that others should seek.

‘Dr Percy Collett…a charismatic medical missionary, devised an extensive series of detailed messages on heaven, all drawn from his extraordinary personal experience. Collett claims that in 1982 he was transported to heaven for five-and-a-half days. He says he saw Jesus, who is supervising the building of mansions there, and he claims he was able to speak face-to-face with the Holy Spirit. A newsletter reports: “While Christianity abounds with accounts of the ‘other’ dimension from those who’ve had ‘out of body’ experiences, Dr Collett’s is unlike these. Obviously he was ‘caught up in the third heaven’ even as Paul was. The difference being, Paul was not allowed to utter the things he saw and heard, while Dr Collett, almost 2,000 years later, was commanded to do so.'” Collett describes the animals he saw in heaven – ‘these are perfect. For example, the dogs do not bark.’ He describes ‘the Pity Department, the place where the souls of aborted babies go, and also some severely retarded babies, and it is here that these little souls are trained for a period of time before they go before the Throne of God.’ Then there is the Record Room, ‘an immense area where all the “idle” words spoken by Christians are being retained until after Christians give an account of them, or are judged, at which time these will be emptied into the Sea of Forgetfulness.’ There is a “Garment Room,” where angels are sewing our robes. (MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos, 27f)

12:5 On behalf of such an individual I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except about my weaknesses. 12:6 For even if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I would be telling the truth, but I refrain from this so that no one may regard me beyond what he sees in me or what he hears from me, 12:7 even because of the extraordinary character of the revelations.

Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me—so that I would not become arrogant. 12:8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

A thorn in the flesh – The word most often translated ‘thorn’ may refer to any of a number of different kinds of sharp object. Garland prefers the translation ‘stake’.

The precise nature of this impediment is unknown and probably, in our present state of knowledge, unknowable. It may have been intrinsic (such as some kind of physical disability) or extrinsic (persecution, for example). See longer note.

'A thorn in the flesh'

12:7 So that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me—so that I would not become arrogant. 12:8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Murray Harris (Navigating Tough Texts) identifies the following characteristics of Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’:

1. It was given to Paul as a direct consequence of the revelations he received in paradise (v. 7).
2. It caused him acute pain, either physically or psychologically, which prompted him to seek its removal (vv. 7–8). In Classical Greek, the word skolops commonly meant “stake,” but in the LXX, as also in the papyri, it means “splinter” or “thorn.” “In the flesh” (en sarki) has the sense “embedded in/driven into my body.”
3. He regarded it, paradoxically, as simultaneously given by God (“was given” is a “theological passive”) and yet a “messenger” or instrument of Satan (see part 1, ch. 2).
4. It was a permanent condition, as implied by the two present tenses, “to keep me from being too elated” and “to pummel.” Yet its exacerbations were intermittent, as implied by the “three times (I implored the Lord)” in verse 9.
5. It was humbling, for it was designed to curb or prevent spiritual arrogance (note the repeated “to keep me from being too elated”) over the “extraordinary nature” (or “stupendous grandeur,” Weymouth) of the revelations received.
6. It was humiliating, comparable to receiving vicious blows about the face. The colorful verb kolaphizō means “strike with the fist,” or, more generally, “maltreat violently,” “batter,” “knock about.”
7. It caused Paul to feel weak (vv. 9–10), yet the weakness it caused became an object of boasting (v. 9; cf. v. 5) and a source of pleasure (v. 10).

Most commentators are wisely guarded about the identification of Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’.

Kruse mentions the following possibilities:

‘(i) some form of spiritual harassment, for example, the limitations of a nature corrupted by sin, the torments of temptation, or oppression by a demon;

(ii) persecution, for example, that instigated by Jewish opposition or by Paul’s Christian opponents;

(iii) some physical or mental ailment, for example, eye trouble, attacks of malarial fever, stammering speech, epilepsy, headaches or a neurological disturbance;

(iv) the Corinthian church’s rejection of his apostleship.’

We can cluster suggestions around:

(a) extrinsic impediments, such as harrassment from one or more opponents.

(b) intrinsic impediments, such as some kind of physical disability;

(a) An extrinsic impediment?

Linda Belleville, while noting that various solutions have been offered – ‘epilepsy, a speech impediment, malaria, an ophthalmic malady, leprosy, attacks of migraine’, suggests that one option would be to identify the ‘thorn in the flesh’ with troublesome Jews (perhaps alluded to in v10). The meaning would then be akin to us referring to someone as ‘a pain in the neck’.

The idea that Paul’s ‘thorn’ was an opponent or persecutor was first mooted by Chrysostom, who noted that ‘satana‘ can simply mean ‘adversary’. He thought that Paul might have Alexander the Coppersmith particularly in mind.

Paul might plausibly have picked up his turn of phrase from texts such as:

Num 33:55 – “If you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those whom you allow to remain will be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your side, and will cause you trouble in the land where you will be living.”

Eze 28:24 – ‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them.’

Against this interpretation, Hafemann notes that

(i) ‘In 11:14–15, Satan appears as an angel of light whose servants, Paul’s opponents, must be opposed (cf. 10:4–6; 11:4);

(ii) ‘In chapter 11, Paul therefore fights against his opponents as part of the eschatological battle between Satan and Christ, while in 12:7–10 Paul accepts Satan’s messenger as the demonic angel who does God’s bidding’;

(iii) ‘This is confirmed by the contrast between 12:7–10 and 1 Thessalonians 2:18, where persecution leads to a hindering of Paul’s work, not to an education in dependence and humility’;

(iv) ‘in 2 Corinthians 10–11, Paul faces many opponents (see 10:12–16; 11:5, 12–15, 18, 22–23; the use of the singular to refer to the opponents in 10:7, 11, 18; 11:4, 20 is collective), whereas in 12:7–10 he faces a single messenger.’

Gundry observes that if Paul was referring to opponents, we would expect to read a plural – rather than a singular – ‘a thorn…a messenger’.

(b) An intrinsic impediment?

This is favoured by the majority of commentators.

Harper’s Bible Commentary:

‘Paul nowhere specifies the nature of this satanic impediment, but it was probably some kind of physical ailment, not seriously disabling, but certainly bothersome enough to prompt him to pray for divine healing.’

The phrase ‘in the flesh’ suggests that the ailment was physical. We then have to weigh up how Paul could have endured all that he lists in 2 Cor 11:24-27 if he suffered from a debilitating disability. But the present passage does not say how debilitating the condition was (although it certainly ‘tormented’ him). And, in any case history is replete with examples of men and women who have achieved much while suffering from serious illnesses and disabilities.

John Calvin is one such example. Garland quotes Storms:

‘[Calvin’s] afflictions read like a medical journal. He suffered from painful stomach cramps, intestinal influenza, and recurring migraine headaches. He was subject to a persistent onslaught of fevers that would often lay him up for weeks at a time. He experienced problems with his trachea, in addition to pleurisy, gout, and colic. He was especially susceptible to hemorrhoids, which were aggravated by an internal abscess that would not heal. He suffered from severe arthritis and acute pain in his knees, calves, and feet. Other maladies included nephritis (acute, chronic inflammation of the kidney caused by infection), gallstones, and kidney stones. He once passed a kidney stone so large that it tore the urinary canal and led to excessive bleeding. He contracted pulmonary tuberculosis at fifty-one, which led ultimately to his death.’

Some have conjectured that Paul’s ‘thorn’ was some kind of psychological problem, such as depression, a tendency to doubt, or even some kind of sexual temptation.

Concerning this latter suggestion, I mention the theory of John Shelby Spong, who in Re-Claiming The Bible For A Non-Religious World, claims that Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’ was his repressed homosexuality:

‘Paul was a zealot who tried with all his might to worship God properly. He bound the desires that he found natural within himself, but nonetheless deeply troubling and intensely negative, so tightly inside the laws of the Jews that he was able, at least partially, to suppress those desires. This was the internal pressure that caused Paul to view his body quite negatively. The promise of death, said the Torah, was the end result of the sin that Paul appears to have felt sure lived in his uncontrollable “member.” … Was his thorn in the flesh his deeply repressed homosexuality? Other theories have been offered: malaria, epilepsy, a chronic eye disease, diabetes, perhaps even an abusive and distorting childhood sexual experience. None, however, fits the details we know of Paul’s life so totally as the suggestion that he was a gay man.’

In support of his argument, Spong cites Paul’s deep agony of spirit (Rom 7) and his ‘fear within’ (2 Cor 7:5). Paul’s reference in Rom 7:23 to the ‘war’ taking place in his ‘members’ (Gk. ‘melos‘) which suggests, to Spong, that what disturbs him is some aspect of his sexuality. Paul’s sense of shame is also reflected in Rom 6:21. He regards himself as an imposter who longs to be true (2 Cor 6:8-10).

Even though Paul recommends marriage to others (1 Cor 7:9), for some reason he does not follow his own advice. Indeed, he seems not to have liked women (and many women today do not like Paul).

(Source of these quotations from Spong)

I think that Spong’s view has little to commend it.

Harris thinks that Paul’s ailment was probably physical. He notes:

‘In 1 Corinthians 5:5 (cf. 1 Cor 11:30; 1 Tim 1:20), Satan appears as God’s agent for the infliction of disciplinary illness (cf. Job 2:1–10). Certainly a recurrent and tormenting illness could be considered “a messenger of Satan,” for it might bring Paul within the shadow of death (cf. 2 Cor 1:8–9) or hinder the advance of the gospel either by arousing the contempt of the hearers (cf. Gal 4:13–14) or by frustrating his travel plans (cf. 1 Thess 2:18).’

Belleville thinks that some kind of persistent physical malady is a possibility. Gal 4:14f; 6:11 may even hint at some kind of ophthalmic disability. Ben Witherington III is of a similar opinion.

Seifrid concludes:

‘But in the end, only God knows the affliction that was given to Paul. Indeed, it may well have been a variety of afflictions: Paul identifies the “thorn” with a messenger of Satan. The numerous beatings that this one delivers may encompass all of the sufferings that the apostle names and more (2 Cor 11:23–33).’

Noting that most interpreters understand it probably to have been some kind of physical ailment (due to Paul’s use of the word ‘flesh’, Kruse comments:

‘the plain fact is that there is insufficient data to decide the matter.’

The very fact that Paul does not clearly identify the ‘thorn’ suggests a couple of things:

Paul’s silence is probably intentional. Hafemann (following Heckel) remarks that Paul:

‘is not interested in the medical diagnosis of his weakness but in its theological origin (sent by Satan but given by God), in its cause (Paul’s great revelations), and in its purpose (to afflict Paul in order to keep him from becoming conceited).’

We are entitled to generalise about our own similar experiences. Harris comments that if Paul had been more specific about his ‘thorn’, then subsequent believers might have thought that his reflections only applied to that particular type of malady. As it is, believers with various maladies may derive challenge and comfort from his experience.

Garland agrees that this very uncertainty about the nature of Paul’s ‘thorn’ enables us to generalise about our own parallel experiences:

‘The ambiguity about what Paul’s stake in the flesh might be allows others to identify their own personal “thorns” with Paul’s and to appropriate the theological lesson. Stakes in the flesh are not good, but they also are not bad because they may convey a word from God if we are attuned to hear it. What is important to Paul is the theological word-to-the-wise that his stake in the flesh provided him. It was a constant reminder of God’s grace and God’s power working through him.’

Was given to me – The passive implies that it was given by God himself. As Keener (IVPBBC) notes:

‘As in the Old Testament (e.g., Job 1:6–2:6) and most Jewish thought, God is here sovereign even over Satan and his angels.’

A messenger of Satan to trouble me – If Paul’s ailment was physical, then, as Martin notes, in Lk 13:16 Satan is credited with responsibility for the woman who was bent over for 18 years.

Mark Seifrid notes the difficulty that many would perceive in this being described as being from God (as the passive ‘was given to me’ implies) and yet a ‘messenger of Satan’. But it is a commonplace in Scripture – though also a mystery – that God uses evil to accomplish good. The cross of Christ is the supreme example of this.

I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me – We should, to be sure ‘ask, seek and knock’ in prayer. There are, certainly, times when we ‘do not have’,because we ‘do not ask.’ But, as Blomberg (NIVAC on 1 Corinthians) drily comments:

‘John Wimber with Kevin Springer, Power Healing (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989), 158, believes that “the most fundamental reason—why people are not healed when prayed for today” is that “we do not seek God as wholeheartedly as we should.” The Risen Lord gave Paul a diametrically opposite reason in 2 Corinthians 12:8–9.’

The thorn was given to Paul, ‘not for punishment, but for protection’:

‘Physical weakness guarded him against spiritual sickness. The worst diseases are those of the spirit: pride, conceit, arrogance, bitterness, self-seeking. They are far more damaging than physical malfunctioning’ (J.I. Packer, Laid-Back Religion, 131).

How God uses suffering for good:

‘God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. Felt weakness deepens dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away. To live with your “thorn” uncomplainingly – that is, sweet, patient, and free in heart to love and help others, even though every day you feel weak – is true sanctification. It is true healing for the spirit. It is a supreme victory of grace. The healing of your sinful person thus goes forward, even though the healing of your mortal body does not.’ (J. I. Packer)

Packer, again:

‘Again and again our Lord leads us into situation that are painful and difficult, and we pray – as Paul prayed regarding his thorn in the flesh – that the situation will change. We want a miracle! But instead the Lord chooses to leave things as they are and to strengthen us to cope with them, as he did with Paul, making his strength perfect in continuing human weakness.

Think of it in terms of the training of children, and you will see my point at once. If there are never any difficult situations that demand self-denial and discipline, if there are never any sustained pressures to cope with, if there are never any long-term strategies where the child must stick with an educational process, or an apprenticeship, or the practice of a skill, for many years in order to advance, there will never be any maturity of character. The children (who, of course, want life to be easy and full of fun, as children always do) will remain spoiled all their lives, because everything has been made too easy for them. The Lord does not allow that to happen in the lives of his children.’ (A Passion for Holiness, 214f)

Power perfected in weakness

‘At first Paul could see no benefit in his thorn in the flesh. Hardly able to “count it all joy,” he instead resented the tormenting affliction. It interfered with his busy ministry schedule and caused him to question God. Three times he pleaded for a miracle of healing. Three times his request was refused. Finally, he received the lesson that God wanted him to learn through the affliction: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

‘The physical weakness was, in fact, being used for Paul’s own benefit. The sins of spiritual pride, arrogance, and conceit represented far greater dangers, and this nagging physical weakness kept him relying on God, and not himself, for strength. When he finally saw that, Paul’s attitude moved from one of resistance to one of transforming acceptance: instead of begging God to remove the thorn, he prayed that the pain would be redeemed or transformed to his benefit.

‘Once Paul had learned this lesson, in typical fashion he began shouting it to the world, “boasting” about his weaknesses. To the Corinthians, a sophisticated audience impressed by power and physical appearance, he bragged about God’s pattern of choosing the lowly and despised people of the world to confound the wise, the weak to confound the strong. Paul had learned the lesson of the Beatitudes: poverty, affliction, sorrow, and weakness can actually be means of grace if we turn to God with a humble, dependent spirit. “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” Paul concluded. The weaker we feel, the harder we may lean.’

Yancey, Philip. Where Is God When It Hurts? (pp. 150-152). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Grace cannot be stockpiled

If God wants you to do something, he’ll make it possible for you to do it, but the grace he provides comes only with the task and cannot be stockpiled beforehand. We are dependent on him from hour to hour, and the greater our awareness of this fact, the less likely we are to faint or fail in a crisis. (Louis Cassels)

The story is told that one day Charles H. Spurgeon was riding home after a heavy day’s work, feeling weary and depressed. A verse came to his mind, “My grace is sufficient for you.” In his mind he immediately compared himself to a little fish in the Thames River, apprehensive lest drinking so many pints of the water each day he should drink it dry. Then Father Thames says to him, “Drink away, little fish. My stream is sufficient for you.” Next he thought of a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt, afraid lest its daily nibbles exhaust the supplies and cause it to starve to death. Then Joseph comes along and says “Cheer up, little mouse. My granaries are sufficient for you.” Then he thought of a man climbing some high mountain to reach its lofty summit and dreaded lest his breathing might exhaust all the oxygen in the atmosphere. The Creator booms his voice out of heaven saying, “Breathe away, oh man, and fill your lungs. My atmosphere is sufficient for you!” So lets rest in God’s wonderful grace, knowing it will be sufficient for us! (Our Sufficiency in Christ, John MacArthur p. 256.)

‘He never brings them into so low a condition that he does not leave them more cause of joy than sorrow.’ (Richard Baxter, The Saints’ Everlasting Rest, 37.)

The healthiest person in the building:

‘Twice it has been my privilege to introduce quadriplegic Joni Eareckson. … Each time I have ventured to predict that her message would show her to be the healthiest person in the building – a prediction which, so far as I could judge, came true both times.’ (J.I. Packer)

Consider God’s creative power:

‘There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot from that situation create something that is surpassingly good. He did it at the creation. He did it at the cross. He is doing it today.’ (Bishop Handley Moule)

So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. 12:10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Gladly – ‘Gladly! How can this be? Why is Paul willing to embrace his thorn with gladness? Because his greatest goal in life is that Christ be magnified in his body whether by life or by death (Phil. 1:20). To see the beauty of Christ, to cherish Christ as his supreme treasure, to show Christ to the world as better than health and life—that was Paul’s joy.’ (Piper, Coronavirus and Christ)

‘God uses broken things’:

‘Broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.’ (Vance Havner)

The Signs of an Apostle, 11-21

12:11 I have become a fool. You yourselves forced me to do it, for I should have been commended by you. For I lack nothing in comparison to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. 12:12 Indeed, the signs of an apostle were performed among you with great perseverance by signs and wonders and powerful deeds.

Fee (God’s Empowering Presence) notes how surprising v12 seems to be. But it is not an afterthought. Rather, it represents Paul turning from playing the role of a ‘fool’ to giving them some straightforward reasons why his apostleship is in no way inferior to the claimed apostleship of others (v11). He has been making this point all along:

‘He was equal to them in pedigree (2 Cor 11:22); he was their superior in terms of serving Christ (2 Cor 11:23–29); and he was at least their equal in terms of ecstatic experiences (2 Cor 12:1–5).’

The signs of an apostle – lit. ‘the signs (σημείον, ‘sign’) of an apostle’. NIV: ‘The things that mark an apostle.’ Either (a) miracles; or (b) the life and ministry of an apostle. Or, perhaps, some blending of the two. See longer note, below.

Spoiler title

12:11 I have become a fool. You yourselves forced me to do it, for I should have been commended by you. For I lack nothing in comparison to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. 12:12 Indeed, the signs of an apostle were performed among you with great perseverance by signs and wonders and powerful deeds.

Two questions may be raised. An exegetical question: do these ‘signs of an apostle’ to refer to miracle-working, or more broadly to a life and ministry consistent with that of an apostle? A theological question: was miracle-working restricted (or nearly restricted) to the apostles?

1. Miracles?

Some think that these ‘signs of an apostle’ are the ‘signs and wonders and powerful deeds’ mentioned immediately after. The NIV reflects this understanding.

Kruse seems content with this interpretation. He compares Rom 15:17-19, penned shortly after penning 2 Cor. Clearly, the performance of such miraculous signs was a normal accompaniment of Paul’s ministry, and in this respect his work in Corinth had been no exception.

Paul, then, is in no way inferior to his opponents in the matter of performance of miraculous signs. Acts records some of these, eg 2 Cor 14:8-10; 16:16-18. The account of Paul’s first visit to Corinth in Acts 18 records no miracles, but obviously such had been carried out, otherwise the present claim would make no sense.

Note that Paul does not try to prove these miracles: he asserts them in a matter-of-fact way.

These offered tangible evidence to the doubters that Paul’s credentials as an apostle ordained by God were sound. These are to be distinguished from the various extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, 1 Cor 12:4-11, which were not limited to the apostles (or, as far as we can tell) to the apostolic age.

2. The life and ministry of an apostle?

Others think that ‘the signs of an apostle’ are Paul’s life and ministry. This is supported by a literal translation: ‘The signs of an apostle were performed among you in all endurance with (or, accompanied by) signs and wonders and miracles.’ If this reading is correct, the case is weakened for regarding this verse as implying that signs, wonders and miracles were the exclusive provenance of the apostles.

According to this view,

‘The “signs of a true apostle” are listed in chapters 10-12, not merely in the much-quoted verse. They include powerful preaching that breaks down menal strongholds (10:1-6); the privilege of first bringing the gospel to these people (10-13-18); faithfulness to divine truth (11:1-6); unwillingness to be a financial burden to his converts (11:7-11); the endurance of great hardship and suffering for the gospel (11:22-33); a deeply personal semi-ecstatic experience which he does not describe (12:1-6); and the “patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works” (curious combination), 12:11-13. None of these factors is unique to apostles.’ (Bridge, Signs and wonders today, 173f)

Grudem (Systematic Theology, p362) adopts a similar view:

‘The “signs” of an apostle are best understood as everything that characterized Paul’s apostolic mission and showed him to be a true apostle. We need not guess at what these signs were, for elsewhere in 2 Corinthians Paul tells what marked him as a true apostle:

Spiritual power in conflict with evil (2 Cor 10:3–4, 8–11; 13:2–4, 10)
Jealous care for the welfare of the churches (2 Cor 11:1–6)
True knowledge of Jesus and his gospel plan (2 Cor 11:6)
Self-support (selflessness) (2 Cor 11:7–11)
Not taking advantage of churches; not striking people physically (2 Cor 11:20–21)
Suffering and hardship endured for Christ (2 Cor 11:23–29)
Being caught up into heaven (2 Cor 12:1–6)
Contentment and faith to endure a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor 12:7–9)
Gaining strength out of weakness (2 Cor 12:10).’

Discussion

The contributor to Harper’s Bible Commentary seems to accept elements of both interpretations. Like the ‘super-apostles’, Paul too

‘has performed the healings and other signs that the Corinthians have been led to expect of a true apostle (v. 12), although he does not belabor this point. From the way he refers to these in other Letters (notably Rom. 15:18–19; Gal. 3:1–5), it is clear that he regards his preaching of the gospel, not his performance of wondrous deeds, as the truly definitive evidence of apostleship.’

G.H. Trelftree notes:

the phrase ‘signs of an apostle’ may have come from the Corinthians, or from Paul’s opponents;
since Paul’s opponents seem to have performed miracles, Paul does not rely completely on them as attestations of his apostleship. Indeed Paul teaches in 2 Thess 5:9 and elsewhere that even Satan can perform (or seem to perform) miracles;
in the present letter, Paul bases his authenticity as an apostle on ‘his holy life of dependence on God (2 Cor 5:18–21; cf. 3:1–3), as well as on his own spiritual experience (2 Cor 1:12; 2:17; 4:2; 7:2), his suffering and weakness through which the power of God is seen (2 Cor 4:7–15; 6:4–10; 11:21–33), and the reconciliation that has taken place between the Corinthians and God (2 Cor 12:1–6).’

‘Thus’, Twelftree concludes:

‘the miracles along with his life of patient suffering in proclaiming the gospel and the experience of the Corinthians are the proof of his apostleship and the truth of his message, for in all of these the power of God can be seen (2 Cor 12:9).’

(DPL, art. ‘Signs, wonders, miracles’)

In any case, this verse should not be pushed so far as to make it say that miracles are the exclusive provenance of apostles. For this would fly in the face of 1 Cor 12:10,28-29. Rather, it should be understood as teaching that apostles would work miracles on a more regular basis. (Fee) This is consistent with the view that miracles do not occur evenly across biblical history (or across history generally, for that matter). Miracles are clustered around four major epochs – (a) Moses, Exodus, and the giving of the Law; (b) Elijah and Elisha; (c) the Lord Jesus Christ and his earthly ministry; (d) the apostles.

Fee regards it as ‘extremely doubtful’ that Paul regarded the working of miracles to be the exclusive province of apostleship. In 1 Cor 12:10, 28f gifts of miracles and healings are ministries within the Christian congregation, quite unrelated to apostleship. What Paul is affirming here, then, is that since miraculous gifts were found amongst believers generally, they were also to be expected to accompany the ministry of an apostle such as himself.

Stott, whose approach may be characterised as ‘open but cautious’, comments:

‘There may well be situations in which miracles are appropriate today, for example, on the frontiers of mission and in an atmosphere of pervasive unbelief which calls for a power encounter between Christ and Antichrist. But Scripture itself suggests that these will be special cases, rather than “a part of daily life”.’ (Authentic Christianity, 387)

But note that Paul does not seek to legitimise his ministry by an appeal to apostolic signs. He regarded as surer evidence of the genuineness of his ministry his faithful evangelism and the resulting establishment of congregations of believers, 2 Cor 3:1-3; 5:11-13; 10:7.

Signs and wonders and powerful deeds – ‘signs and wonders, i.e., powerful deeds’ (Siefrid).

But Paul himself was not healed:

‘Of course, these miracles did not cure Paul of his own physical infirmity, which perhaps left him open to the opponents’ cynical retort, “Physician, heal yourself!” (cf. Luke 4:23, a common proverb in antiquity).’ (Scott)

12:13 For how were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this injustice! 12:14 Look, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, because I do not want your possessions, but you. For children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 12:15 Now I will most gladly spend and be spent for your lives! If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 12:16 But be that as it may, I have not burdened you. Yet because I was a crafty person, I took you in by deceit! 12:17 I have not taken advantage of you through anyone I have sent to you, have I?

12:18 I urged Titus to visit you and I sent our brother along with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not behave in the same way? 12:19 Have you been thinking all this time that we have been defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and everything we do, dear friends, is to build you up.

12:20 For I am afraid that somehow when I come I will not find you what I wish, and you will find me not what you wish. I am afraid that somehow there may be quarreling, jealousy, intense anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder. 12:21 I am afraid that when I come again, my God may humiliate me before you, and I will grieve for many of those who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.